When he was born, his mother took him to the blessed
Prophet who put some of his saliva on the babe's
tongue even before he began to suckle. This was
the beginning of the close and intimate tie between
Abbas and the Prophet that was to be part of a
life-long love and devotion.
When Abdullah reached the age of discretion,
he attached himself to the service of the Prophet.
He would run to fetch water for him when he wanted
to make wudu. During Salat, he would stand behind
the Prophet in prayer and when the Prophet went
on journeys or expeditions, he would follow next
in line to him. Abdullah thus became like the
shadow of the Prophet, constantly in his company.
In all these situations he was attentive and
alert to whatever the Prophet did and said. His
heart was enthusiastic and his young mind was
pure and uncluttered, committing the Prophet's
words to memory with the capacity and accuracy
of a recording instrument. In this way and through
his constant researches later, as we shall see,
Abdullah became one of the most learned companions
of the Prophet, preserving on behalf of later
generations of Muslims the priceless words of
the Messenger of God. It is said that he committed
to memory about one thousand, six hundred and
sixty sayings of the Prophet which are recorded
and authenticated in the collections of al-Bukhari
and Muslim.
The Prophet would often draw Abdullah as a child
close to him, pat him on the shoulder and pray:
"O Lord, make him acquire
a deep understanding of the religion of Islam
and instruct him in the meaning and interpretation
of things."
There were many occasions thereafter when the
blessed Prophet would repeat this dua or prayer
for his cousin and before long Abdullah ibn Abbas
realized that his life was to be devoted to the
pursuit of learning and knowledge.
The Prophet moreover prayed that he be granted
not just knowledge and understanding but wisdom.
Abdullah related the following incident about
himself: "Once the Prophet, peace be upon
him, was on the point of performing wudu. I hurried
to get water ready for him. He was pleased with
what I was doing. As he was about to begin Salat,
he indicated that I should stand at his side.
However, I stood behind him. When the Salat was
finished, he turned to me and said: 'What
prevented you from being at my side, O Abdullah?'
'You are too illustrious and
too great in my eyes for me to stand side by side
with you,' I replied.
Raising his hands to the heavens, the Prophet
then prayed: 'O Lord, grant
him wisdom." The Prophet's prayer
undoubtedly was granted for the young Abdullah
was to prove time and again that he possessed
a wisdom beyond his years. But it was a wisdom
that came only with devotion and the dogged pursuit
of knowledge both during the Prophet's lifetime
and after his death.
During the lifetime of the Prophet, Abdullah
would not miss any of his assemblies and he would
commit to memory whatever he said. After the Prophet
passed away, he would take care to go to as many
companions as possible especially those who knew
the Prophet longer and learn from them what the
Prophet had taught them. Whenever he heard that
someone knew a hadith of the Prophet which he
did not know he would go quickly to him and record
it. He would subject whatever he heard to close
scrutiny and check it against other reports. He
would go to as many as thirty companions to verify
a single matter.
Abdullah described what he once did on hearing
that a companion of the Prophet knew a hadith
unknown to him: "I went to him during the
time of the afternoon siesta and spread my cloak
in front of his door. The wind blew dust on me
(as I sat waiting for him). If I wished I could
have sought his permission to enter and he would
certainly have given me permission. But I preferred
to wait on him so that he could be completely
refreshed. Coming out of his house and seeing
me in that condition he said: 'O
cousin of the Prophet! What's the matter with
you? If you had sent for me I would have come
to you.' 'I am the
one who should come to you, for knowledge is sought,
it does not just come,' I said. I asked
him about the hadith and learnt from him."
In this way, the dedicated Abdullah would ask,
and ask, and go on asking. And he would sift and
scrutinize the information he had collected with
his keen and meticulous mind.
It was not only in the collection of hadith that
Abdullah specialized. He devoted himself to acquiring
knowledge in a wide variety of fields. He had
a special admiration for persons like Zayd ibn
Thabit, the recorder of the revelation, the leading
judge and jurist consult in Madinah, an expert
in the laws of inheritance and in reading the
Quran. When Zayd intended to go on a trip, the
young Abdullah would stand humbly at his side
and taking hold of the reins of his mount would
adopt the attitude of a humble servant in the
presence of his master. Zayd would say to him:
"Don't, O cousin of the
Prophet."
"Thus we were commanded
to treat the learned ones among us,"
Abdullah would say. "And Zayd would say to
him in turn: "Let me
see your hand." Abdullah would stretch
out his hand. Zayd, taking it, would kiss it and
say: "Thus we were commanded
to treat the ahl al-bayt members of the household
of the Prophet."
As Abdullah's knowledge grew, he grew in stature.
Masruq ibn al Ajda said of him: "Whenever
I saw Ibn Abbas, I would say: He is the most handsome
of men. When he spoke, I would say: He is the
most eloquent of men. And when he held a conversation,
I would say: He is the most knowledgeable of men."
The Khalifah Umar ibn al-Khattab often sought
his advice on important matters of state and described
him as "the young man of maturity".
Sad ibn abi Waqqas described him with these words:
"I have never seen someone
who was quicker in understanding, who had more
knowledge and greater wisdom than Ibn Abbas. I
have seen Umar summon him to discuss difficult
problems in the presence of veterans of Badr from
among the Muhajirin and Ansar. Ibn Abbas would
speak and Umar would not disregard what he had
to say."
It is these qualities which resulted in Abdullah
ibn Abbas being known as "the learned man
of this Ummah".
Abdullah ibn Abbas was not content to accumulate
knowledge. He felt he had a duty to the ummah
to educate those in search of knowledge and the
general masses of the Muslim community. He turned
to teaching and his house became a university:
a university in the full sense of the word; a
university with not only specialized teaching
but with the difference that there was only one
teacher -- Abdullah ibn Abbas.
There was an enthusiastic response to Abdullah's
classes. One of his companions described a typical
scene in front of his house: "I saw people
converging on the roads leading to his house until
there was hardly any room in front of his house.
I went in and told him about the crowds of people
at his door and he said: 'Get
me water for wudu.'
He performed wudu and, seating himself, said:
'Go out and say to them: Whoever
wants to ask about the Quran and its letters (pronunciation)
let him enter.'
This I did and people entered until the house
was filled. Whatever he was asked, Abdullah was
able to elucidate and even provide additional
information to what was asked. Then (to his students)
he said: 'Make way for your
brothers.'
Then to me he said: 'Go out
and say: Who wants to ask about the Quran and
its interpretation, let him enter'.
Again the house was filled and Abdullah elucidated
and provided more information than what was requested."
And so it continued with groups of people coming
in to discuss fiqh (jurisprudence), halal and
haram (the lawful and the prohibited in Islam),
inheritance laws, Arabic language, poetry and
etymology.
To avoid congestion with many groups of people
coming to discuss various subjects on a single
day, Abdullah decided to devote one day exclusively
for a particular discipline. On one day, only
the exegesis of the Quran would be taught while
on another day only fiqh (jurisprudence). The
maghazi or campaigns of the Prophet, poetry, and
Arab history (before Islam) were each allocated
a special day.
Abdullah ibn Abbas brought to his teaching a
powerful memory and a formidable intellect. His
explanations were precise, clear and logical.
His arguments were persuasive and supported by
pertinent textual evidence and historical facts.
One occasion when his formidable powers of persuasion
was used was during the caliphate of Ali. A large
number of supporters of Ali in his stand against
Muawiyah had just deserted him. Abdullah ibn Abbas
went to Ali and requested permission to speak
to them. Ali hesitated fearing that Abdullah would
be in danger at their hands but eventually gave
way on Abdullah's optimism that nothing untoward
would happen.
Abdullah went over to the group. They were absorbed
in worship. Some were not willing to let him speak
but others were prepared to give him a hearing.
"Tell me"
asked Abdullah, "what
grievances have you against the cousin of the
Prophet, the husband of his daughter and the first
of those who believed in him?"
"The men proceeded to relate three main
complaints against Ali. First, that he appointed
men to pass judgment in matters pertaining to
the religion of God - meaning that Ali had agreed
to accept the arbitration of Abu Musa al-Asbari
and Amr ibn al-As in the dispute with Muawiyah.
Secondly, that he fought and did not take booty
nor prisoners of war. Thirdly, that he did not
insist on the title of Amir al-Muminin during
the arbitration process although the Muslims had
pledged allegiance to him and he was their legitimate
amir. To them this was obviously a sign of weakness
and a sign that Ali was prepared to bring his
legitimate position as Amir al-Muminin into disrepute.
In reply, Abdullah asked them that should he
cite verses from the Quran and sayings of the
Prophet to which they had no objection and which
related to their criticisms, would they be prepared
to change their position. They replied that they
would and Abdullah proceeded: "Regarding
your statement that Ali has appointed men to pass
judgment in matters pertaining to Allah's religion,
Allah Glorified and Exalted is He, says:
'O you who believe! Kill not
game while in the sacred precincts or in pilgrim
garb. If any of you do so intentionally, the compensation
is an offering, of a domestic animal equivalent
to the one he killed and adjudged by two just
men among." "I
adjure you, by God! Is the adjudication by men
in matters pertaining to the preservation of their
blood and their lives and making peace between
them more deserving of attention than adjudication
over a rabbit whose value is only a quarter of
a dirham?"
Their reply was of course that arbitration was
more important in the case of preserving Muslim
lives and making peace among them than over the
killing of game in the sacred precincts for which
Allah sanctioned arbitration by men.
"Have we then finished
with this point?" asked Abdullah and
their reply was: "Allahumma,
naam - O Lord, yes!" Abdullah went
on: "As for your statement
that Ali fought and did not take prisoners of
war as the Prophet did, do you really desire to
take your "mother" Aishah as a captive
and treat her as fair game in the way that captives
are treated? If your answer is "Yes",
then you have fallen into kufr (disbelief). And
if you say that she is not your "mother",
you would also have fallen into a state of kufr
for Allah, Glorified and Exalted is He, has said:
'The Prophet is closer to the believers than their
own selves and his wives are their mothers (entitled
to respect and consideration).' (The
Quran, Surah al-Ahzab, 34:6).
"Choose for yourself
what you want," said Abdullah and
then he asked: "Have
we then finished with this point?"
and this time too their reply was: "Allahumma,
naam - O Lord, yes!" Abdullah went
on: "As for your statement
that Ali has surrendered the title of Amir al-Muminin,
(remember) that the Prophet himself, peace and
blessings of God be on him, at the time of Hudaybiyyah,
demanded that the mushrikin write in the truce
which he concluded with them: 'This is what the
Messenger of God has agreed...' and they retorted:
'If we believed that you were the Messenger of
God we would not have blocked your way to the
Kabah nor would we have fought you. Write instead:
'Muhammad the son of Abdullah.' The Prophet conceded
their demand while saying: 'By God, I am the Messenger
of God even if they reject me." At
this point Abdullah ibn Abbas asked the dissidents:
"Have we then finished
with this point?" and their reply
was once again: "Allahumma,
naam - O Lord, yes!"
One of the fruits of this verbal challenge in
which Abdullah displayed his intimate knowledge
of the Quran and the sirah of the Prophet as well
as his remarkable powers of argument and persuasion,
was that the majority, about twenty thousand men,
returned to the ranks of Ali. About four thousand
however remained obdurate. These latter came to
be known as Kharijites.
On this and other occasions, the courageous Abdullah
showed that he preferred peace above war, and
logic against force and violence. However, he
was not only known for his courage, his perceptive
thought and his vast knowledge. He was also known
for his great generosity and hospitality. Some
of his contemporaries said of his household: "We
have not seen a house which has more food or drink
or fruit or knowledge than the house of Ibn Abbas."
He had a genuine and abiding concern for people.
He was thoughtful and caring. He once said: "When
I realize the importance of a verse of God's Book,
I would wish that all people should know what
I know.
"When I hear of a Muslim
ruler who deals equitably and rules justly, I
am happy on his account and I pray for him...
When I hear of rains which fail on the land of
Muslims, that fills me with happiness..."
Abdullah ibn Abbas was constant in his devotions.
He kept voluntary fasts regularly and often stayed
up at night in Prayer. He would weep while praying
and reading the Quran. And when reciting verses
dealing with death, resurrection and the life
hereafter his voice would be heavy from deep sobbing.
He passed away at the age of seventy one in the
mountainous city of Taif.
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